IOP 2016 acquisition FINAL

International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System

50 Charlton Avenue East, Hamilton ON L8N 4A6 www.internationaloutreach.ca

26 February, 2016 Dear Friend, The doctors at Mulago Hospital in Uganda had a deadly problem on their hands.

At least three times a week, they would deliver a baby, admit the mother to the recovery ward, but the mother would not survive the night.

Something had to be done to save these mothers’ lives. And Dr. Sarah Nakubulwa was the one who did it.

Sarah had come to Hamilton as a medical resident sponsored by the International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System and McMaster University. She had learned new skills, developed a sense of what is possible, and returned home determined to make a difference.

And make a difference is exactly what she did, thanks to people just like you. “I knew these deaths were all virtually preventable,” says Sarah. “And I knew from my

training in Canada that we just needed to take a fresh approach, establish some new protocols, and that we could solve this problem. I didn’t want another mother to die unnecessarily.”

Sarah and her colleagues developed and implemented what’s known as a High Dependency Unit. They identified the women most at risk, removed them from the general ward, and monitored them every 30 minutes during the 24 hours after delivery.

In the first three months following implementation of Sarah’s new protocol, not a single mother died in childbirth at Mulago Hospital. Not one. Since Sarah started this program, at least 650 mothers’ lives have been saved.

That’s the power of training a doctor from a developing country. You train a doctor today, you save 650 lives tomorrow.

And that’s why I’m writing to you. I want you to provide life-saving medical training in areas of the world where medical resources are low. Your gift today to the International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System will save lives tomorrow. Dr. Nakubulwa is proof of that.

You see, in the poorest countries, there is only one doctor for every 100,000 people. Imagine the City of Hamilton, population 500,000, with only five doctors. That’s what the

People like you helped Dr. Sarah Nakubulwa save over 650 mothers' lives, and counting . . .



chronic shortage of doctors in developing countries looks like. The shortage of nurses and other vital health workers is just as chronic.

I’m talking about 400 million people worldwide who lack access to a doctor or a nurse. The majority of these people live in 57 of the poorest countries. Where there are no doctors or nurses, there are deadly consequences. Each year in developing nations, six million people die from malaria and tuberculosis. Half a million women die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth. Two million people die from diphtheria, measles and tetanus.

With few exceptions, these deaths are preventable. By doctors and nurses. Enough doctors and nurses.

Want to save lives in developing countries? Train a doctor. Train a nurse. Repeat. The International Outreach Program of St.

Joseph’s Health System saves lives in developing countries by training, equipping and mentoring their doctors and nurses.

We are a non-profit organization that partners with universities, medical schools and teaching hospitals in countries that need more doctors, nurses, hospital pharmacists, biomedical engineers and other health professionals.

We give medical students and doctors the academic knowledge and clinical skills they need to prevent illness, restore health, save lives—and train other doctors to do the same.

Our trainees also acquire leadership, communication, negotiation and teaching skills that help them generate lasting change in their communities and countries.

The power of multiplication starts in Hamilton, Ontario. We bring over medical students for residencies (typically six months) and doctors for clinical fellowships (typically twelve months) at McMaster University and area teaching hospitals.

We also send physicians, nurses and other health professionals to our partner countries to

Your gift teaches doctors from developing countries how to restore health, save lives and train others.



deliver training, mentor our graduates and strengthen our relationships (and friendships) with the faculty and leadership of their medical schools and hospitals.

Your gift delivers unique, life-saving training. Most non-governmental organizations that deliver medical training to students from

developing countries only offer observerships. Yes, trainees are allowed into patient wards and operating rooms—but only to observe.

They are not allowed to examine patients, see patients independently, answer patient questions, prescribe medications or perform procedures. They are given zero responsibility. All they are allowed do is watch. Our training model is different.

The International Outreach Program arranges full licensing and medical insurance for medical students and physicians from developing countries.

Our trainees talk with their patients, prescribe medications, perform surgeries, deliver babies, set broken bones, and plenty more, just as Canadian residents and clinical fellows do.

This unique approach sets us apart, and, from what our medical graduates tell us, is the foundation of our success—and theirs.

Your gift saves many lives by training many types of health professionals.

In countries where medical resources are in short supply, healthcare can’t be delivered by one person, not even a well-trained doctor. Every doctor is part of a team. That’s why we train other members of the team. First among these vital workers are nurses. We train nurses to deliver safe, effective, evidence-based patient care.

We tailor our curriculum, whether it’s in emergency room nursing, infectious diseases, obstetrics,

Thanks to supporters like you, Dr. Peace Bagasha is learning in Hamilton how to save the lives of patients with kidney failure back in Uganda.



surgery or another discipline, to the nursing methods most relevant to local needs. Two other areas where our training is in

great demand are pharmacy and biomedical engineering. We teach hospital pharmacists how to work closely with medical and nursing staff to ensure that patients receive the right medicine, at the proper dosage, administered in the most appropriate way.

We teach biomedical engineers how to maintain, service and repair the medical equipment (whether modern or outdated) that their hospitals use to diagnose, monitor and treat patients. When possible, and only if requested, we donate this equipment.

As you can see, your gift to the International Outreach Program of St. Joseph’s Health System provides life-saving medical training in areas of the world where medical resources are low.

By the way, remember Dr. Sarah Nakubulwa, the doctor we brought to Canada for training in obstetrics, whose training has saved over 650 mother’s lives to date? Well, Sarah is now a professor at the medical school of Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda (as many of our Ugandan trainees are). Sarah is now a doctor who trains doctors. As you can see, an investment in Sarah’s training 10 years ago is still paying dividends today. Lives are still being saved, doctors are still being trained, because a donor like you saw the awesome potential of investing in a doctor from a developing country.

You can make a powerful difference as well. Today, and tomorrow. Please donate today using the enclosed reply form. If you prefer, donate at www.internationaloutreach.ca/donate/

Sincerely,

Peter Sweeney, Executive Director

Your gift trains and equips nurses, pharmacists, biomedical engineers and other health professionals in countries where trained health workers are desperately needed.

IOP 2016 acquisition FINAL

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